Hand Me A Heart Worth Breaking
by TalkingToTulips
Summary: Brought over from Tumblr. Prompt: Caroline is a mermaid and Klaus is a hybrid. Klaus needs a scale from Caroline's tail to become immune to the white oak stake. They meet for the first time and sparks fly, leaving Klaus wanting more than just the scale…
1. Chapter 1

**Name: **Hand Me A Heart Worth Breaking  
**Type:** AU  
**Notes: **This story was originally on Tumblr, but I brought it over here to see what you guys thought of it. Klaroline is new to me on here, so I hope you guys give it a shot and enjoy it. I'll post two chapters at a time.  
**Summary: **_Caroline is a mermaid and Klaus is a hybrid. Klaus needs a scale from Caroline's tail to become immune to the white oak stake. They meet for the first time and sparks fly, leaving Klaus wanting more than just the scale…_

* * *

Klaus knew the plan.

Find a mermaid.

Capture said mermaid.

Get her to water.

Get the scale for Gloria to create the potion that would make him immune to white oak, whether she would hand it over or he'd have to pry it from her tail.

Then insure the mermaid would keep her mouth shut in any way he could.

With mermaids being immune to compulsion, the hardest part would probably be that he would have to kill her if she was unwilling to keep their 'deal' between them, which would be a crying shame. Mermaids were the rarest, purest and most beautiful of the supernatural creatures. It would be heartbreaking to see one dead at his hand.

_Mermaids live alone. Always alone. About 16 or 17, they reach full age and they part from their mothers, and never see them again. Something to do with their powers and men. Its their scales that make them live forever, so they're very protective of them. Giving them up is a disgrace and dishonour to them; if found out, the mermaid that gives up her scale would be ripped to shreds by the first mermaid she came across. Most of them, as rare as they are, live near lakes and rivers these days, because the harbors pose such risks to them with fishing boats and the sirens have taken the oceans from themselves, but there's one in LA. Caroline's her name. She's a waitress at Laguna Beach Bar._

With Gloria's word echoing through his mind, Klaus walked into the bar, a falling apart shack on the beach that scarily resembled the Mystic Grill in structure It was empty of patrons, half an hour from closing time and Klaus had found out from the hybrid he'd sent ahead to scout for information that Caroline was on shift until 1am. Klaus checked his watch. 12:30. He looked up and around the bar for the blonde he was looking for. Klaus finally found the girl he was looking for, and if he had a heartbeat, it would have been racing.

Caroline was beautiful, radiant, stunning even. She hummed LeAnn Rimes to herself as she cleaned shot glasses behind the bar. She sat up on the countertop against the wall as she worked, wearing denim blue dunagrees that were cut off at mid thigh and a white tank top. In Virginia she'd been freezing at this time of year, but the California air was heavy, hot and sticky. Her golden blonde hair sat around her face in curls, adding to the halo effect in her glimmering skin. Klaus recovered from the inital shock of her beauty, the legends of mermaids having not prepared him for the real deal, and remembered his quest, starting towards the bar. "Excuse me, I was wondering if you could help me?" He asked the mermaid sweetly.

She looked up at the sound of his voice and her eyes instantly widened. Caroline's fear and the way she instantly dismissed him, jumping down quickly and telling him they were closed as she started towards an already sparkling table to clean it with the rag in her hand alerted Klaus instantly to the fact that she'd been warned by someone about him and she was not coming quietly. The hybrid flashed himself over to the blonde, his hand over her mouth to stop her screaming, though nobody would hear on the near empty beach and cove. "I'm not here to hurt you." He vowed softly, her eyes wide in fear. "Not if you give me what I need. I need one of your scales to keep my family and I safe." He added, removing his hand, his other hand on her hip to keep her in place.

"No way. You vampires are such vultures! One scale this, one tear that. Taking one of my scales will make me lose ten years of my life, just so you can live forever! And if word gets out, vampires and witches and werewolves will flock to steal the scales from my tail until I'm withered and die of shame!" She whisper-yelled into his face. Klaus couldn't deny the mermaid was beautiful, sexy and her determination not to give him what he wanted made him almost growl in arousal at her hot-headedness that rivalled his. She tried to get out from his grip but he wasn't having any of it. "Let go of me, the answer is no!"

"Give me the scale, and I'll protect you. You can stay with me and I'll protect each of one of your scales with my life. I'll take you wherever you want, and look after you. I'll be eternally indebted to you." Klaus bargained, a tone of begging slipping into his voice as he continued. "Just help me protect my family, and all vampire kind and you will have my eternal gratitude. Caroline, please." Klaus added.

Caroline's eyes softened as he spoke; she licked her lips and sighed heavily. Her eyes left his for a second, then came back. He could see the conflict in her eyes, weighing her options. She must have known that he would send any supernatural creature in need of a scale to her as revenge for denying him and her life would be decimated from the thousands of years her scales gave her to a human lifetime or less in a matter of months. "Okay."

* * *

"Come on, love. We're on a private pier, we won't be disturbed." Klaus urged as the two of them stood on a dock that only three yachts were tied to. One of the sizeable boats was Rebekah's, the first thing she'd done after being undaggered the night their mother had come back. She had yet to come down to California to try the boat out with the family drama going on and Klaus didn't get the need to purchase it in the first place. Nevertheless he'd let her have the boat, as it gave him private access to the yacht and the long pier it was docked to. Caroline was unbuttoning her dungarees, the denim falling away from her front and hanging down her body as she watched the dark blue waters, her eyes shy. Klaus got the message, knowing how mysterious and secretive mermaids could be and turned away for her to transform into her true form.

A couple seconds later, he heard a splash, the sound of a perfect dive into the water and turned back to the depths, waiting for her to emerge. A few moments passed of complete silence, the waters stilling and he began to think the mermaid had betrayed him and swam off for open oceans and the mercy of the sirens, who would probably rip the poor girl to shreds.

But just as he began to give up on Caroline, a few bubbles came to the surface of the water, followed by a blonde head of hair. Klaus knelt down so that Caroline could see his face, sitting on the side of the dock as she pulled herself up on the wooden pier, her hair sopping and pushed back to the contours of her scalp. Her hair was long enough to cover her breasts, but apart from that, little was left to the imagination. Her tail, turquoise blue and shimmery, poked out between the water, the scales glittery in the moonlight before sinking back down away. "One scale, that's it. And you'll protect me? Never tell anyone what I am, make sure nobody hurts me, and let me come with you?" She cleared up, her eyes hopeful.

"You have my word." He agreed, offering his hand to the girl. She crinkled her nose delicately at the extended palm and pulled herself further up so she was face to face with him, inches apart, her obviously strong and toned arms bolt straight and tense to keep her upright. He raised his eyebrows at the dismissal. "Do you want it in writing?" He asked with a smile in his voice.

"Mermaids don't shake hands, too corporate businesslike. We have another way of sealing an agreement." She stuttered slightly. There was a few moments' silence before Caroline brushed her lips against his to seal the deal. Before Klaus could react to the kiss, Caroline dipped back under the water and left him waiting for a few seconds more. When she reappeared though with a slight grimace of pain and bit of blood on her finger, she pressed a translucent blue scale into his palm. "We have a deal, Mr. Mikealson and I hope you intend on keeping up your end."

* * *

Caroline cleared her throat awkwardly as she and Klaus traveled down the highway back to Chicago and Gloria at some godforsaken speed, her overnight bag of stuff on the backseat. She'd wanted to pack her clothes, but Klaus had argued that packing up completely would arouse suspicions and she would tell her employer that she was visiting family for a while and was needed there as soon as possible, explaining the duffel bag with just two sets of clothes, a curling iron and enough essentials to keep her going until she could replace her wardrobe that consisted of shorts, tank tops and sundresses with more Mystic Falls suited attire. "Is there a lake around this Mystic Falls? It's just, I can't go too long from water…." She explained quietly, fidgeting.

"There's a lake and river on the outskirts of the town. You'll be able to drive down whenever you need, provided nobody sees you in your true form, supernatural creatures aren't received too well in Mystic Falls." He told her calmly, having already thought ahead on that part; Mystic Falls was really an indeed location for harboring a mermaid in need of protection as she'd broken an ancient code of some sort to help him. The scale itself was in her pocket for safekeeping, having changed back into her dungarees and shirt when she'd pulled herself onto the pier and gotten her shapely legs back, completely dry in a few seconds including her blonde curls.

"Good, I once had to transform in a motel bathroom because it was the middle of Utah, and there wasn't a close enough water source." She explained, crinkling her nose distastefully. "Getting out was the hard part, nearly broke my back." She commented in a couple seconds, wanting to fill the silence. Klaus smirked slightly at the image as Caroline looked out the window, at the changing landscape and frowned slightly at all the trees and the lack of water. "I miss the water already." She added with a sigh.

"I can drop you off at the nearest lake whilst I talk to Gloria and perform the ritual." He suggested as they got within the city limits. Klaus didn't like the idea of Caroline being uncomfortable when she'd basically handed him his life back so didn't mind driving god knows how long to find a lake where she could swim about until he was finished acquiring the potion. Caroline however shook her head and turned back to the hybrid.

"I'll be fine until we get to Mystic Falls, I always miss the water. Plus…I kinda want to see the ritual. It's like paying for the festival and not getting to see the headline act." She commented shyly, playing with her dungarees straps as she spoke. Klaus nodded and continued towards Gloria's house where she'd told him to meet her once he had the scale. Once parked, he got out and walked around to Caroline's side to open the door, offering his hand to the blonde. She smiled and took the offered hand, slipping out the car and stepping onto the pavement.

Klaus and Caroline started towards the porch in the house squeezed between thirty other identical lodgings, metal gates and a dying yellow grass lawn. The hybrid knocked the door three times, and automatically heard a cat meow. They waited a few minutes before the door open and there stood Gloria. "Found one already, I see? Well, you best come inside so we can get this show on the road. You too, blondie. In those clothes, in this town, guys might start asking for the starting price if you stand in the streets much longer." She greeted Klaus and the mermaid, shooting her a dismissive look.

Klaus gave Gloria a glare at her comment on Caroline's clothing as the blonde automatically looked down and blushed at her clothes. He then stepped inside and Caroline followed meekly, closing the door behind her and walking into the living room where some witchcraft equipment was set up on an old wooden end table, a granite, ruby encrusted mortar sitting on top of it. Gloria went to stand beside the table and put a hand on her hip. "Well then, the scale would be good about this point. Do I need to run the bath or do you have it already?" She said dryly. Caroline popped up a bit and dug in her shorts for the scale, about the size of her thumbnail, handing it over to Gloria carefully.

The witch examined it, the almost see through scale with a turquoise tint to it, committing the details to memory as the mermaid and vampire watched on. A few seconds passed before she looked back up. "Right, and the blood?" She asked Klaus, who dug in his own pocket and pulled out a vial of ruby red blood. Gloria took that from him in the other hand and screwed the top, pouring it into the mortar and adding some sage and vervain herbs. She dropped the scale into the blood and it sparked on contact, sending a puff of smoke up into the air. A breeze that smelt like sea air blew through the room and Gloria added a bit of dark red wine and some more herbs, speaking a few words of Latin as it continued to bubble and turned the same colour as Caroline's scale.

Translucent blue.

"There you go. One sip and you're immune to the white oak stake. There should be enough for each of your siblings in there." Gloria exclaimed as she poured it back into another larger vial. Klaus took the vial and thanked Gloria, who's eyes were staring at Caroline, almost pitifully. "And keep this one safe. After you've taken the potion, the spell is cast and if she dies after that point, the potion loses all magical quality and it'll just be a liquid that tastes like salt water and taffy. Good luck, blondie, I can barely go fifteen minutes with Klaus." She added, pointing a finger at Caroline offhandedly as she began to pack up.

"Caroline, can you go to the car? I need to pay Gloria for her services." Klaus told Caroline softly, the mermaid nodded and started towards the door, thanking Gloria for her time. Once the door was shut behind her, the witch and the hybrid shared a look. "Did you need to scare her like that? She's already terrified about what the mermaids will to do if they find out. Now you're adding vampires onto that list of things to be worried about."

"Well, maybe I should have told her that the potion links you all together, and now she possesses the same weaknesses as a vampire, vervain, stake to the heart, the sun, but I thought I'd spare her the shock. Which is why I made her this." Gloria added with a roll of the eyes, walking over to the drawer and pulling out a ring, throwing to Klaus. A sun ring. "Keep that girl in your sights for the rest of your life. You owe her that much. And who knows maybe she'll give you some food for thought." Gloria shrugged before leaving the room and a confused hybrid.

* * *

Back in the car that was now zooming down the highway, Caroline fiddled with the ring Klaus had given her, explaining it would protect her. From what she wasn't sure, but she put it on anyway. Klaus himself was staying focused on the road, determined to be back home before sunrise, just in case the ring didn't work or some other problems had arisen with his siblings. They hadn't spoken since Klaus had given her the gold and blue stoned ring ten minutes after driving away from Gloria's house.

"So, are you going to lock me in a tower? Never let me see the light of day again?" She asked, only half jokingly. Klaus smiled slightly as they began towards the drive of the Originals mansion, Caroline's jaw dropped slightly at the size and grandeur of the place. He parked in front of the house and turned to her.

"Of course not, I said I'd protect you, not imprison you. You can go wherever, whenever as long as you let me or my siblings know where you are and look after yourself. You, love, now carry the continued existence of the vampire race on your safety. I won't let you down on our deal, Caroline, love." He told her softly. Caroline smiled softly and nodded before they began to get out the car. Klaus directed Caroline towards the front door, and opened it for her.

Instantly they were met by Rebekah and Elijah, who looked from Klaus to the newcomer. "You've brought home a stray, brilliant." The Original Sister started, rolling her eyes. "This must be Caroline. Nice to meet you, I'm Rebekah." She told the girl gently, extending her hand to Caroline. She shook it carefully and introduced herself. Elijah shook her hand as well and offered to find her a room so she could freshen up. The mermaid followed Elijah up the stairs, leaving Klaus and Rebekah alone in the foyer. Rebekah turned to Klaus once both of them were out of earshot, and crossed her arms.

"We need to kill her before we take the potion, Nik. We can't risk her getting found out and used against us. We need to dispose of the mermaid. Tonight." She announced before walking off towards the living room without another word, leaving a conflicted Klaus in her wake.


	2. Chapter 2

**Name: **Hand Me A Heart Worth Breaking  
**Type:** AU  
**Notes: **This story was originally on Tumblr, but I brought it over here to see what you guys thought of it. Klaroline is new to me on here, so I hope you guys give it a shot and enjoy it. I'll post two chapters at a time.  
**Summary: **_Caroline is a mermaid and Klaus is a hybrid. Klaus needs a scale from Caroline's tail to become immune to the white oak stake. They meet for the first time and sparks fly, leaving Klaus wanting more than just the scale…_

* * *

As Elijah led Caroline up the stairs, lugging her overnight bag with her, Caroline took in the large mansion of a house. It was something she'd only seen on TV or were hired out for the balls and weddings that she something worked out, one of the cooks at the bar was starting up a catering business so Caroline had helped out. Elijah continued to walk the mermaid down a few corridors before opening a door to reveal a plain guest bedroom. The walls were painted cream, and the duvet covers were the exact same shade.

"This should be comfortable enough for you, Caroline. We don't have heating in the house yet, as there's no real need but you're more than welcome to light the fireplace if you're cold." He explained, gesturing to the grand, wooden fireplace opposite as she wandered in. "I imagine you'll want some rest after your long journey here." He added casually as Caroline placed her bag on the bed.

"I guess…it was a long journey and I can't really sleep in vehicles moving at the speed of sound." She chuckled lightly, Elijah smiled softly as she pulled out her hairbrush and pulled out the bun she'd bundled her hair into after getting out the water hours before, brushing through her blonde hair as she spoke. "Thank you, Elijah. I'll be more than comfortable in here. I mean, this mattress looks like it's soft as a cloud." She added with a smile.

"Well, I'll leave you to get some rest. I think we'll be having dinner tonight to welcome you and thank you for your help and I'm sure you can borrow some clothes from Rebekah. We understand the dangers that are posed by your helping us." Elijah replied, still hovering in the doorway of the bedroom. Caroline just nodded, not wanting to linger on the great dishonor she'd bring on herself and her family if this was ever found out of her. That she'd given up ten years of her life for the sake of some vampires. "Till later, Caroline." He added, before starting out the room, closing the door and leaving Caroline alone to sleep and freshen up.

* * *

Later that evening, the Originals assembled in the dining room, except for Rebekah and Caroline who were finding something for her to wear to dinner. Kol was sipping a glass of wine, tinted with blood and listening to Klaus' recount of the deal he'd struck with the mermaid to get one of her scales, as well as the condition behind the potion. "The solution seems simple then. We kill the mermaid, take the potion and no more worrying about the white oak stake or babysitting a mermaid for the rest of our days." Kol announced calmly, obviously taking the same stance as his sister, who was adamant that Caroline die.

"Niklaus made a deal on our behalf, we must honour it." Elijah interrupted his trail of thought. "Do you have any comprehension of the danger Caroline has put herself in by agreeing to the deal in the first place. Every woman in the mermaid community will seek revenge on her dishonour should she be discovered. For that bravery alone, we should uphold the bargain." His voice was tense as he stared down his little brother, who held his palms up and facing outwards.

"She's not brave, she's a mermaid for crying out loud. Cowards, the lot of them. Beautiful cowards but cowards none the less. She probably just knew that Nik would rip her limb from limb if she refused. Rebekah would at least make it swift and relatively painless." Kol added. Klaus rolled his eyes and sipped his own wine. This had been the topic of discussion in the family all day since the arrival of Caroline. The girl had slept through the day so Rebekah had spent the day trying to convince Nik to exonerate himself of guilt and kill Caroline. Elijah and Klaus both agreed that they should honour their debt to Caroline for her scale, whereas Rebekah and Kol wanted to worm themselves out of the deal.

Before Elijah could rebut, Rebekah and Caroline walked into the room. Caroline was wearing a floaty white blouse and some black linen pants, practically glowing with the refreshment of a long nap and a shower, her skin almost shining under the lights of the dining room. Klaus licked his suddenly dry lips and instantly stood to pull out Caroline's chair, on his side. She sat down and thanked him as Rebekah took her place next to Kol, giving Klaus a look that insured the hybrid she was still on Kol's side of the debate. Elijah picked up the bottle of wine and filled Caroline's glass before topping up Kol's and Rebekah's. They all took a sip of the wine and started on their meal.

"So, Caroline, tell us. Mermaids who live near open oceans are hard to come by these days. Why risk it? I mean, the sirens pretty much control the West coast, and relations with mermaids and sirens are notoriously tricky." Rebekah asked curiously before popping a piece of her chicken into her mouth. Caroline looked into her lap for a few seconds, nibbling on a piece of her own chicken and sighing.

"I haven't come across a siren as of yet. But I tend to stick the harbour and the shallows in the middle of the night, which works with my shifts. I guess I prefer what part of the ocean I can get compared to a lake." She explained, obviously awkward with the mention of sirens. Mermaids had used to rule the oceans themselves, but sirens had pushed them back into the shallows and forced them into lakes and rivers in the late 1800's, well before Caroline's lifetime. The slaughter of mermaids during that time had dwindled their numbers to the low hundreds, even under a hundred, and scattered them across the globe with no way of reuniting with their kind.

"That's very brave of you, Caroline." Elijah smiled, emphasizing the word brave and giving a look towards his younger siblings. Kol rolled his eyes and drained his glass, only to be refilled by Klaus' helpful hand. Caroline sipped from her glass herself as she continued to eat her dinner, which was delicious compared to the greasy curly fries she survived on in the bar. "Your determination and courage is commendable, wouldn't you agree, Niklaus?"

"Very much so, in fact, when I approached her about the scale, she called me a vulture and shouted right in my face. Very strong, indeed." He smiled, looking over at Caroline who was blushing furiously at all of the compliments she was received over the evening so far. "Which is why I think she's more than perfectly capable to live with this family, not go absolutely crazy from dealing with Kol and Rebekah and for us to protect her for the debt we owe." He explained.

"No, the debt you owe, Nik!" Rebekah snapped from the other side of the table, Kol nodded in agreement. "I don't want to protect a freaking blonde mermaid who's not smart enough to realize that the ocean is the most dangerous place for her right now, next to inside this house! And if a mermaid's blood on my hands is the only way to get me out of that, then so be it. I protect this family, not a mermaid." She explained, her voice tense, almost spitting the word mermaid with venom.

Caroline's eyes widened in fear and shock and she stood quickly to attempt to leave the room, scared about what Rebekah was implying. But found herself pinned to the wall, with a hand around her throat, namely Rebekah's. "Rebekah, enough!" Elijah's tense voice interrupted the squeezing sensation around the hollow of her neck, Caroline whimpered in pain. Rebekah continued to squeeze until Caroline was seconds from unconsciousness and it was nearly impossible to breathe. She couldn't believe this was happening, that the deal was being revoked and she was about to die at the hands of the people she was saving.

"What's happening?!" Rebekah shrieked as she suddenly let go of Caroline's neck and staggered back, her voice wheezy and out of breath. Caroline looked over, gulping in air to see Kol was having the same difficulties breathing as Rebekah, who coughed a few times. The blonde vampire however recovered quickly and put her manicured hand around Caroline's throat once more, digging her fingers until Caroline's skin until the flesh cut. Once again, Rebekah's throat created nail shaped cuts in her skin magically, blood dripping down the column of her throat, exactly where Caroline's skin was bleeding and cut. She let go of the mermaid once more and grasped at her throat, her fingers becoming covered in blood and turning around to her brothers who all had blood trickling down their necks. A few seconds passed before the cuts healed as Rebekah stalked over to Klaus, who had the telltale knowing smirk on his face. "What magic is this?!" She shouted at him.

Klaus reached over to the table and picked up the now empty bottle of wine, offering it to Rebekah. "Beautiful vintage. 1956, comes from Italy. Now with a drop of the immunity potion." He explained, to Rebekah and Kol's horror. Caroline's eyes widened, this time in surprise. Klaus had laced the wine with the potion so his siblings took it without their consent, making their killing Caroline impossible without killing or harming themselves. "These strong effects of the linking spell should weaken within the next month but even after then, Caroline's death would mean ours, dear sister. Looks like we have to honor our debt after all." Klaus smirked.

Rebekah's face was a picture of anger, she seethed visibly before turning to the mermaid.

Only to find she wasn't in the corner where Rebekah had pushed her.

The Original vampires only finished talking just in time to hear the front door slam shut and the car start, taking Caroline with it.

* * *

"She stole my car, Nik!" Rebekah shouted as she came back from the front, fury in her eyes as her heels hit the wooden floor. Kol was now leaning against the wall, sipping from a glass of blood to heal his fingernail shaped cuts that peppered all their necks. Elijah was still sat the dining room, not really reacting to his sister's anger and temper. Klaus was the only one really acknowledging that she'd entered the room, smirking at the revelation that Caroline had stolen Rebekah's roadster, which was the sister's baby. "What if she leaves the town? What if she gets herself killed by some mermaids, or sirens, or vampires?" She asked Klaus with her eyebrows in arches over her seething eyes.

"Then we find her and bring her back. This family is good at finding people when we need to. We could lock her in the basement until the linking potion calms down a bit and then, if she's a good girl, we'll let her out." Kol decided quickly, draining the ruby blood from the glass. Elijah perked up at his brother's plan and Klaus rolled his eyes at the youngest brother's determination to make Caroline hate them all.

"We won't lock her up, Kol. We find her, bring her back, keep her out of harm's way and honour the debt we now _all_ owe her." Elijah spoke without looking up from his plate, which had his now cold chicken sitting upon it. He put special emphasis on the word all and Rebekah rolled her eyes, muttering about how stupid this was. The vampire heard her and turned to look at her. "What would you rather? Break the potion's spell and face those stakes alone? Out of pride?" He asked rhetorically. Rebekah stayed quiet.

"I'll go find her, I think I know she might go. And I don't think she'll react kindly to a rescue party in the form of Rebekah." Klaus interjected after a few moments of silence between the four siblings. Elijah nodded, agreeing this was the best plan of action. Rebekah made an excuse about wanting to change and get some blood in her system. Kol remained silent. With that resounding silence in the house, Klaus started out the door.

* * *

Caroline dove head first into the lake outside Mystic Falls and let the water envelop her. The freshwater was different to her home of salt water, but it was surprisingly refreshing as she swam down, feeling the water soak through the white blouse she'd been wearing. The personal satisfaction of imagining Rebekah's face when she saw the drenched and probably ruined item of clothing kept Caroline's mind off the jolt of pain when her legs melted into her natural state, her pretty, shimmering blue tail that caught the glint of moonlight. She finally pushed up and broke the surface of the water, glad it was late and she was alone in the lake's area so she didn't have to stay under the whole time like when she was in the harbour back in California.

"Caroline!" A shout of her name alerted her to another person, standing on the wooden pier were people would dock motor boats and such in the summer, where she imagined this place was a lot busier. She didn't particularly want to talk to any of the Mikealsons now, but the urge to be polite overrode her urge to ignore him until he got the picture. So she swam towards the pier, hands cupping the edge of the platform to keep her moored and moving the sopping fabric of the blouse closer to cover her skin, unlike the first time she'd turn in front of Klaus.

"What do you want?" She asked with as much venom as she could muster. Klaus had slowly sat on the edge of pier, keeping his feet away from the water's edge though as she bobbed beside the platform, her hair dripping down her back as she spoke. The hybrid reached out tentatively for the scratches that scattered her throat, as well as the forming bruises. His finger soothed the necklace of injuries around her throat and Caroline flinched back, half from discomfort, half from the pain of the damaged nerves being tampered with. "It's fine. I'm fine. I don't need to be babied, I've had far worse. It'll be gone by the morning." She insisted firmly.

"I wanted to come apologize for my family's behavior. My sister is the sort of person who doesn't like to depend on another person, particularly whose who are not family. You being alive when she drank the potion would mean your life is now in her hands." He explained, running a hand through his hair as he spoke, trying to find the right words and the mermaid watched on with an unimpressed look. She sighed heavily and twiddled her ring absentmindedly.

"You promised I'd be safe. You promised I wouldn't get hurt, especially by those I was dishonoring my kind to protect." She started in a small voice. Klaus sighed heavily at how heartbroken she sounded when she spoke. "You lied to me." Caroline added softly, the words barely audible with the whistling of the wind in the trees. The end of her tail rose from the surface of the water a few inches then splashed back down as if to punctuate the mood, the moon watching the two of them quietly, illuminating the lake in its near fullness.

"You will be safe. I will keep my promise to you, Caroline, even if Rebekah decides to fight it. You will never be hurt by a member of my family again, we will protect you with our lives." Klaus reassured her, his finger coming out to brush down her chin softly. Caroline didn't flinch this time but kept her eyes low on the water, using a finger to draw shapes on the water's surface carelessly.

"Why did you even need it? My scale?" She asked quietly, sensing there was a deeper reason behind the family seeking out the help of an eighteen year old mermaid to keep themselves alive rather than fear of death. She'd been told of the Originals vampires when she was still growing, and always thought them the type to never fear anything, ever. Klaus leaned back on his hands and watched the moon calmly as Caroline waited for an answer.

"My mother is trying to kill me and my family. She believes us all to be abominations, even though she created us." He explained slowly. "Rebekah's desperation not to have any way of the potion backfiring on us is driven by fear and the horror of having her mother want to kill her, so I wouldn't take any personal offence from her trying to strangle you, Caroline, love. She'd strangle Kol if it could get her closer to immunity. We've already lost our oldest brother, Finn. He died a few days ago after a human staked him with white oak, his lover Sage died an hour later, as did the rest of his bloodline. We may seem selfish by protecting ourselves from death after a thousand years, but we're also protecting the rest of vampire race." He added gently as Caroline grabbed the pier tightly, her expression becoming unreadable as she was silent.

"I had a sister…" She said softly, looking down at the waters again. Klaus waited for a continuation of the trail of thought but Caroline didn't speak again for a few moments, obviously not wanting to talk about it. She flicked some water across the surface, creating lots of ripples in the peaceful surface of the lake. She licked her lips. "Fine, I'll come back. But I don't want to be locked in that house all day for the rest of our days. I'm not an invalid, or a porcelain doll. I want something to do, I've had a routine for years now and having nothing to do is not an option for me." She told him, looking him in the eyes.

"I'm sure we can find you something to do." Klaus agreed, understanding her need to be doing something, not completely useless. How she thought working in a beach bar was an adequate use of her time he didn't particularly understand but he supposed he couldn't talk. He'd spent a thousand years stalking doppelgangers for their blood. The blonde nodded and began to pull herself from the water so she was sat beside him, tail stretched out, half in the water and moving gracefully around naturally. The moonlight caught the scales in her tail, each one as life giving as the last. Klaus' eyes looked her up and down as she examined her shirt that was on the knife's edge of see through.

"My shirt is drenched." She stated calmly. Klaus quickly shed his black jacket and told her she could wear that with her pants back to the house and she could dry off there. Caroline nodded and was beginning to unbutton the shirt so she could strip it off when her head popped up, staring into the woods on the other side of the lake to Klaus' confusion. "There's someone here, on the other side of the lake." She murmured quietly and in the blink of an eye, so quick that Klaus, who had been following her gaze, had completely missed it, her tail turned skin coloured and melted away into two legs. Caroline kicked at the water with one foot, as if to prove she had legs again before getting up.

Before she had stood up to normal position, her skin was dry and she was pulling on the black linen pants and the black pumps she'd worn with them. Klaus turned so she could strip off Rebekah's shirt and pull on his casual dinner jacket, tying up her still sopping locks with a tie she'd been carrying on her wrist. Klaus had to admit the sight of Caroline buttoning up his jacket, knowing there was nothing underneath, made his back straighten slightly and lick his lips. "Also, I want my own clothes. You guys wear too much designer." She added before starting towards the forest so they could walk home. Klaus followed, chuckling.

* * *

Across the lake, Damon Salvatore faded back into the trees, watching the hybrid and a mysterious blonde disappear into forest. Neither of them were going vampire speed back to his evil lair, so he assumed that the blonde wasn't a vampire. He also didn't want to admit to himself that he thought that the tail he'd imagined wasn't an imagining, because that was just crazy. He pulled out his phone and speed dialed his brother. "Brother..it's Damon, you might want to call together everyone….we have a newcomer in Mystic Falls and I don't think she's in the I Hate Klaus fan club." He spoke into the device before hanging up.


	3. Chapter 3

**Name: **Hand Me A Heart Worth Breaking  
**Type:** AU  
**Notes: **This story was originally on Tumblr, but I brought it over here to see what you guys thought of it. Klaroline is new to me on here, so I hope you guys give it a shot and enjoy it. I'll post two chapters at a time.  
**Summary: **_Caroline is a mermaid and Klaus is a hybrid. Klaus needs a scale from Caroline's tail to become immune to the white oak stake. They meet for the first time and sparks fly, leaving Klaus wanting more than just the scale…_

* * *

"I'm sorry, you said Klaus has a what?" Elena Gilbert asked incredulously, unable to believe what Damon had just informed the group from what he had seen last night by the lake. Since the call from Stefan had informed her that the group would need to meet early to discuss some new information Damon had, many things had run through Elena's mind. This was not one of them. The two Salvatores were sat around Elena's kitchen table along with Jeremy, who was sipping a cup of coffee and Bonnie, who was scanning her grimoire.

"A mermaid." Damon told her simply as if it were completely normal. "Or she has a condition that makes her legs look like a tail in certain lightings. But considering the unlikelihood of that being the case, I'd just go with the mermaid thing. Which, by the way, is also unlikely seeing as I thought mermaids were extinct?" The last part was posed as a question towards Stefan.

"Katherine said they were near extinction, only about 50 left in America, but that was 150 years ago, they've probably been able to grow in numbers since then. I mean in the 1860's, the sirens had just gained control of the Atlantic." Stefan informed his older brother in a matter of fact tone that would remind you of a teacher lecturing a student on something they should already know.

"The sirens? Aren't they the same thing as mermaids?" Jeremy asked.

"No." Stefan told him instantly. "Mermaids are relatively peaceful, only violent when threatened, but proud and big on honour. Sirens are constantly violent towards those not of their kind, and deadly, they're responsible for most of the ship sinkings in history. Titanic, Mary Rose, things like that. The mermaids used to own the oceans, but the sirens began to take over in the 1800's, they slaughtered the mermaids and they made sure that any mermaid that dared swim in the ocean again was…ripped to shreds. Which would explain why you saw one at the lake, Damon, but what would Klaus want with a mermaid?" He asked.

"There are a ton of spells, rituals and potions that use mermaids in this grimoire alone, Klaus could want her for a thousand different things. We might be able to narrow it down a little but there will still be loads of possible reasons for Klaus wanting a mermaid. A lock of a mermaid's hair protects you from drowning, their tears heal injuries and make you young again, their blood is poisonous to werewolves and can make you see ghosts….." Bonnie explained, skimming through a page of the book in front of her as she spoke. "Whatever he wants her for, we should probably put a stop to it, just in case."

"So kill the mermaid, job done." Damon shrugged.

"No. You don't want mermaid blood on your hands. Mermaids are very protective of their own, you kill her and every mermaid in the world will be looking for your head on a plate once it gets out. And Klaus could just replace her with another mermaid. That girl is probably innocent and naive to whatever Klaus is planning." Stefan insisted. "Maybe one of us should get her alone and figure out what Klaus wants with her, and try and prevent it happening?" Elena nodded.

"I can do it. She could see you two as a threat, Bonnie too seeing as she's lugging around a book of things she could do with her body parts." She decided, draining her own cup of coffee. "Trouble is.." Damon started, "How do we get Tails alone when she has an Original family guarding her?"

* * *

Meanwhile in the Original household, Caroline was brushing through her hair and getting ready to face her first day as the Originals' insurance policy. "Think fast." Caroline turned just in time to grab the clothes flying at her face, and pull them to her chest in time to see a smug looking Kol in her doorway. "Try not to soak those ones too. Rebekah said she'll take you shopping in the town later if you want. But her tone suggested that Elijah was forcing her co-operation." Kol explained as Caroline looked through the clothes. A salmon pink shirt and some black skinny jeans, along with some underwear and black pumps.

"I'll go by myself, but thank you. I guess I should explore the town a little and get to know the place." She explained with a smile, putting the clothes on her bed and going back to brushing through her hair. Kol nodded and pulled something out of his back pocket, and threw it onto the bed. A set of car keys. A credit card followed a few seconds later. Caroline wandered over to the bed and picked up the keys, which had the familiar Jaguar logo on the key ring.

"Klaus insists you use them." He explained as Caroline examined the platinum card he'd thrown onto the sheets. Before Caroline could protest to the charity, Kol had disappeared from the doorway and somewhere into the house.

* * *

"Come on, Elena. It's not that I think you can't handle the mermaid…" Damon Salvatore was chasing the Gilbert girl through the town square as she huffed and puffed, annoyed by Damon's implications that she couldn't handle the mermaid. The elder Salvatore and her were passing a clothes store when Damon stopped dead and halted Elena, nodding to someone in the store. "That's her. That's the mermaid. And she's alone." He murmured. Elena turned to see a blonde looking through a clothes rack, singing along to her iPod as she did. The girl looked so innocent and unharmful. This might be Elena's only chance of talking to her without the Originals nosing in. Before Damon could argue against it, Elena pushed her way into the store, her mission firmly in her mind as the mermaid continued to look through clothes.

Seemed like a strange pastimes for a mermaid about to be harvested or used for the Originals' gain, Elena thought to herself as she pretended to rifle through the clothes rack near the door and noted that the blonde was wearing some of Rebekah's clothes. She needed an ice breaker to introduce herself to the mermaid. "Um, hey. I just wanted to say that dress would look great on you." Elena smiled as she approached the blonde, who looked up at the sound of a voice. Caroline grinned brightly and held the dress against her body, it was a long maxi dress sort of dress, patterned with flowers. Elena smiled, trying to remember what she was here for, extending her hand to the girl. "I'm Elena. Are you new in town? I haven't seen you around before and…well, everyone knows everyone in this town." She explained wanting to talk to Caroline quickly.

Caroline bit her lip slightly at what to say, there had been no official story given to her by the Originals, having been too busy with the potion business to think about the public story as to why a blonde had rucked up and moved in with one of the most influential and up and coming families in the town. "I'm a house guest in the Mikealson household right now." She explained with a smile, deciding that was the most vague she could be. "We're...family friends. Our families go way back. I'm Caroline, by the way."

"Oh, that's interesting. I didn't think they would be accepting guests after their brother's death. It was only last week after all. Poor guy." Elena murmured, smiling sadly about Finn and Sage. She had no idea how the Originals had reacted to Finn's death but getting a mermaid for some spell might have been the dangerous reaction they were looking for. Caroline's spine straightened slightly as she added the dress to the group of hangers she was holding on her right hand, Elena assumed they were all clothes she were planning to buy. She seemed to be buying half the store. What kind of house guest had to buy a whole new wardrobe upon arrival? Elena asked herself.

"Are you suggesting that I burst in on them? I know that it's a delicate time for them right now but the Mikealsons have been nothing but welcoming to me." Caroline told her firmly, subconsciously moving to hide the marks Rebekah's nails had left. As predicted, they were just pink faded lines by now. Another night and her skin would be flawless once more. As she spoke, Caroline began to move towards the cash register, handing over the haul, which added to the clothes she'd brought at three other stores, enough to supply at least a fortnight. A month if she really put her mind to it with mixing and matching.

"Not at all! I was just wondering why you were here." Elena explained as she followed the girl. The cashier began to bag Caroline's clothes as she paid for the purchases with Klaus' card, having obtained the pin number and the reassurance that she could spend as much as she wanted.

"Well, that's none of your business isn't it, huh Nosy Rosy?" Caroline sniped as she took the bags off the cashier, thanked her and started out the shop. Elena followed the girl and licked her lips, determined to get some more information out of Caroline. "I'm staying with the Mikealsons, whether their brother died last week or not. And no amount of your poking and prodding will get me to leave or tell you that there's some sort of sinister reason to the family being ready to receive guest in the midst of a family tragedy will stop that." She called back, slipping some of the sunglasses she'd brought three shops back over her face and not looking at Elena as she started towards the car.

Caroline clicked the car open and opened the boot to join the stash of clothes and goodies in there that she had chosen to her liking so she could live comfortably in the cooler than California Virginia. Elena stood by her and pulled out her final card on the mermaid. "I know what you are, and what Klaus wants with you. We want to help you. Klaus is evil and you need to get away from him before he hurts you." She explained in a low voice.

In the middle of the sentence, Caroline slammed down the trunk and rolled her eyes when Elena called Klaus 'evil'. "You don't know anything. The last thing the Mikealsons are going to do now is hurt me." She assured Elena firmly before walking down to the driver's seat of the car. "I believe we're done here. Nice to meet you, Elena." She smiled sarcastically before slipping into the car and driving off, back up to the Originals' mansion, leaving a confused and troubled Elena Gilbert in the dust.

* * *

_Chicago_

_"_And the wretched mermaid? Where is she now?" The red haired woman stood over Gloria in her living room, the witch battered slightly and on the floor. The redhead put her black leather boot heel up to rest on the woman's cheek and dig into the witch's skin. Gloria's busted up eyes followed the long shapely legs of the woman which were clad in denim skinny jeans. Two more equally beautiful women watched the entrance to the living room and the window respectively, a younger girl, barely 16, with white blonde hair and one who must have been about 25 with black hair with a cigarette resting between her lips. "Answer me, witch!" The first woman hissed, pressing the stiletto closer into her skin.

"Protected. You won't get at her if your life depends on it." Gloria wheezed gently, not wanting to put pressure on her broken ribs. The head woman didn't like this answer and snatched her heel back so it scraped against Gloria's skin, the witch hissed in pain as the blood broke to the surface. She walked over to the window, looked through the blinds as the sirens rang through the air and took the cigarette from her elder minion's lips, taking a long drag.

"No, it'll depend on yours. I get what I want, and what I want is the honour that my…baby sister took from my family. And if that means I have to tear down an army, then so be it." The woman replied before knocking a mortar holding the potion Gloria had been working on when the three girls arrived onto the floor. The liquid caused the laminated flooring to bubble and hiss, smoke snaking from the contents of the mortar. "And…this will help me do it…" She spoke as she tentatively picked up a baseball bat from the couch, examined it like it was a sword and started towards the witch once more.

* * *

_Mystic Falls_

"If the Salvatores figure out why Caroline's here, then they won't hesitate to hurt her or even kill her." Elijah told Klaus carefully as the two of them sat in the drawing room of the house, before moving one of his ivory rooks forward two spaces on the board. The two brothers were playing chess during their conversation over the implications of what Elena had told Caroline. The Mikealsons doubted that they truly knew why Caroline was in Mystic Falls, that it was a ruse designed to get Caroline to give up herself or information, whichever was more convenient. "Despite the fact that killing Caroline would effectively end the vampire race, so that would a bittersweet victory." Elijah added.

"We should mention that to the brothers at some point…that our survival is theirs with no hopes of undoing the bloodline curse. I imagine they would have an epiphany in the benefits of our survival. Or at least mine." Klaus smirked, sipping his bourbon and moving one of his own rooks. "But if my survival is yours, then I suppose it's best that nobody die…..especially Caroline…." Klaus trailed off and leaned back into his seat. Looking up at the ceiling where Caroline had decided to take a bath in her natural form for a while to de-stress herself after Elena's interrogation, Klaus sighed.

"You care for her, Klaus." Elijah told him softly, with a hint of teasing in his tone as he moved a rook forward and seized one of Klaus' black chess pieces. Klaus rolled his eyes at his brother's hopeful and teasing voice, probably believing that Klaus was falling in love with Caroline for every second that she stayed. It wasn't entirely untrue that Klaus felt something for the mermaid, whether it was love was a completely different issue. However, before Klaus could retort, the brothers were interrupted by a scream from upstairs and then a sizzling sound that came from their own skin, as if it was touched by sunlight. "Caroline." Elijah answered for the two of them as they rushed up to the bathroom, having to go at human speed due the searing burning of their flesh.

They reached the bathroom, and found Rebekah already in there, kneeling beside the mermaid, her skin had come up red and blistered and Caroline was on the floor, whimpering and screaming at the sunlight filtering across her face, skin and tail from the bathroom window. Klaus staggered over to the window and closed the blinds to stop her pain. The moment the sun was blocked out, Caroline was silenced except a harsh breathing. "Where's the ring I gave you?" Klaus asked, kneeling beside the mermaid. Caroline pushed herself up onto her elbows, looking down at her skin that was a bloody red with blisters and her tail that had sickeningly burnt under the sunlight that was now her enemy. She seemed rendered speechless and her breathing was slow and heavy, Klaus shushed her softly and stroked her hair, picking her up as gently as he could as Rebekah decided the scene was no longer of her interest and disappeared to find some blood that would solve her cosmetic issue of the burns, Elijah followed suit.

Klaus moved Caroline to the bathtub that was already full, but the water had cooled. She sank slowly into the water and carefully moved her tail as the blue sapphire colouring began to return to her scale and when the water touched her skin, the flesh colour returned to it. Caroline leaned her head back on the edge of the tub and moved her hand from under the water's surface to show to Klaus, who was sat beside the tub. Her sunlight ring was still on her finger, where she'd had it since the day that Klaus gave it to her. Her breath was still the loudest thing in the room as she tried to return her body back to normal by being where she belonged. In the water.

"That's not right." Klaus told her gently, taking the hand softly in both of his and examining the ring. It was the exact same one that he'd given to her, the one that Gloria had spelled for her. Why had it stopped working all of a sudden when it had worked earlier whilst Caroline was out shopping? "This is supposed to stop the sun hurting you like it does to vampires. That's a downside of the spell, you get our weaknesses in the interest of fairness. I imagine a vampire could just spell a mermaid and walk around in the daylight without a ring, and your race would not enjoy being slaves to vampires. I am sorry that you had to go through that, Caroline." He told her softly, kissing the back of her hand to offer some comfort to the mermaid.

"It's okay, I guess. You didn't know, I didn't know, it could happen to anyone, I suppose." Caroline told him, moving her tail as she spoke so that it shimmered and caught what was left of the sunlight, which was too weak to cause any harm to them now. "Does this mean I am confined to the house until you figure out what's wrong with my ring?" She asked, poking fun at the promise he'd made not to lock up Caroline in a tower. Klaus smirked.

"I'm afraid so. Unless you'd like to be burnt again." He chuckled lightly, still holding her hand and smiling. Caroline smiled and shook her head at his proposal, looking down at herself. She was wearing a bandeau top that wrapped around her breasts and probably wasn't built for water but covered her dignity, her hair was piled on top of her head in a bun. "Right, so I'll leave you here to finish your bath, I'll call Gloria and see if there's any problems with your ring. Try not to break your back, getting out the bathtub. Call Rebekah if you need help." He added lightly before pushing himself up and starting out the room.

As he started down into the balcony overlooking the foyer, Kol walked in through the front door, still blistered. "What the hell was that? Did Caroline decide to try and kill us all? Or expose us? I was just finishing up talking to Stefan Salvatore when I started to burn up." Kol yelled up to the balcony where his two older brothers were standing, leaning on the railings. Klaus pulled out his cell phone as Kol spoke and began looking for Gloria's number.

"Calm down, The Little Mermaid's ring stopped working. We don't know why, but she's on lock down until we figure out. Klaus will call his witch and make sure she's not given us a trick ring. And if we have to, we'll kidnap that Bennett witch and make her spell a ring." Rebekah told her brother as she came in from the kitchen with a glass of blood, handing it to Kol. He drank half the glass down and his skin began to return to its normal flawlessness. Klaus held his phone up to his ear as it rang for Gloria in Chicago.

After a few seconds, it picked up. "Gloria?" Klaus asked into the phone, expecting an instant answer from the witch. Instead he received some rustling sounds, a unfamiliar woman's voice talking in the background so he couldn't pick up what was being said and the sound of someone getting hit. Elijah, who could hear perfectly well from his spot across the balcony furrowed his brow. "Klaus? Don't call here again." came Gloria's voice before the hang up tone.

"Well, that doesn't sound suspicious." Klaus decided as he pocketed his phone and leaned on the railings, looking down on his two younger siblings. "Rebekah and Elijah, you stay here and look after Caroline, make sure she doesn't go into direct sunlight or outside. Kol and I will go to Chicago and see what's going on with Gloria. I have a feeling she has some unwelcome company." He added, starting down the stairs out to the car, his younger brother following suit.

* * *

"So, Kol Mikealson started to burn up whilst you were talking about Caroline? Like he didn't have a ring on? And he did still have it on right?" Elena asked as the Salvatores at her house once more. Bonnie was looking for spells as it was now narrowed down by the account Stefan gave, plus what Elena said about Caroline being sure that the Mikealsons wouldn't hurt her. Stefan nodded to Elena's question as she sipped some of her coffee. Damon was sat on Bonnie's other side, looking through another grimoire, despite Bonnie's distaste at a vampire handling one of her family's prized possessions.

"I think I know what spell they've cast." Bonnie announced a couple moments later, causing the three of them to snap their heads to look at her. She read a couple of lines in the grimoire, reaffirming her faith in the spell before snapping the book shut and standing up. The group turned to her for the next sentence to leave Bonnie's lips. "And we need to capture that mermaid. Now." She added.


	4. Chapter 4

**Name: **Hand Me A Heart Worth Breaking  
**Type:** AU  
**Notes: **This story was originally on Tumblr, but I brought it over here to see what you guys thought of it. Klaroline is new to me on here, so I hope you guys give it a shot and enjoy it. I'll post two chapters at a time.  
**Summary: **_Caroline is a mermaid and Klaus is a hybrid. Klaus needs a scale from Caroline's tail to become immune to the white oak stake. They meet for the first time and sparks fly, leaving Klaus wanting more than just the scale…_

* * *

"Scarlett? Are we really going to kill the mermaid?" The young blonde who asked the question as the three girls checked into a motel was lounging on the bed, hanging her head slightly off the edge of her single bed. The red head, who was washing dried blood from her jacket in the bathroom and watching the tub fill up slowly with ice cold water, looked up at her name and pondered the question for only a question before scoffing.

"Would you have her live after what's she done? Given one of her scales to those vile creatures, made the survival of vampires a given for generations to come. As long as her heart beats, the Original vampires will remain alive. Her pain is theirs, her heart beats for them all now. The shame she has brought on our family is too much to contemplate. We must kill her, Elle. We must kill them all." As Scarlett spoke, she shed her clothes except the white, blood stained tank top she wore before slowly stepping into the water. Scarlett sat down in the water and her legs melted together and turned a crimson red that matched the blood dried into her skin and the shade of her hair, shimmering in the dull lighting.

Elle watched as the red hair poked her tail out the tub and hung it over the edge of the porcelain before turning to look at the ceiling. The black haired girl was sitting at a table by the the window, once again, holding a cigarette between her lips and taking a drag as she flicked through a grimoire. "But even this seems a little cruel, Scar." The black haired woman called through to the bathroom as she blew the smoke into the air.

"The vampire will be watching her every move, Seraphina, we can't just rush in and stake Caroline, one of those vampires would sooner take the blow for her than them all die. We need to catch them off guard." Scarlett explained menacingly, staring up at the ceiling as her tail moved about in the water, with a life of its own. She hummed lightly and licked her lips as Elle pushed herself up and stood, walking into the bathroom and picked up a small contact case style vial from the side of the sink. She examined it curiously with a single tiny drop of the translucent blue potion Gloria had cooked up days ago. Scarlett leaned out the bath tub to snatch the potion back and started into the glass vial. Her eyes glanced over into the main motel room to the bed, where an unconscious Gloria lay still, bloodied and beaten to a pulp. "Who knew witches were good for anything? She just handed us the next step of our plan."

-X-

"Feeling any better, Caroline? You've been in there a few hours now. Elijah wants to have dinner today if at all possible." Rebekah asked, knocking the bathroom door as Caroline pulled herself out of the tub onto the edge. As she swung herself around, her tail morphed into legs before Rebekah's eyes. They widened on instinct, she'd never seen a mermaid transform herself before. They were shy creatures about their tails, and she could see why. Even blistered and burnt, Rebekah had been taken aback by how gorgeous Caroline's tail was in the sunlight, glimmering like the stories always said. Caroline noticed Rebekah and quickly stood up to wrap a towel around herself and turn to the vampire.

"Much better, the water helped. What about Kol and Elijah? And Klaus?" Caroline replied softly, smiling to show the improvement on her mood. Rebekah had raced in to help Caroline the moment she felt her skin tingling like it had a thousand years ago when her skin was touched by sunlight. Caroline had been trying to get out the tub and the light had caught her back, causing her to fall onto the floor into the path of the sun coming through the window. Elijah was currently going around and blacking out all the windows so Caroline could wander where she liked in the house until sunset.

"A bit of blood and they were all pretty again. Klaus and Kol have gone to Chicago to see the witch that spelled your ring." Rebekah assured her as Caroline disappeared behind a privacy partition in the corner of the room to change into the clothes. Rebekah wandered over to inspect the new clothes Caroline had brought that morning, raising her eyebrows impressed as she did. "I must say you did a better job buying new clothes than I thought you would. Let's just hope you don't take a swim in these too." She commented wryly as she handed Caroline a blouse when asked and went to empty the tub.

"That was an accident." Caroline assured. "It was first instinct. Being in the water helps a mermaid help and you did try and claw my throat out." She added dryly, trying not to sound annoyed as she pulled on some jeans and shoes before stepping out from behind the screen and going to the mirror to check her hair that was still drying. Rebekah smirked in response and sat on the edge of the tub.

"Like you said, it was first instinct." Rebekah was interrupted from continuing by the sound of her phone ringing. She pulled the iPhone from her pocket and answered the call, pressing the phone to her ear as Caroline brushed out her blonde curl and listened to Rebekah's response. "Hi, Nik….Uh huh….Right….Of course…I'll keep an eye out and let Elijah know….Caroline's right here doing her hair….She's fine, Nik, good as new…" Rebekah pulled the phone from her face and handed it out to Caroline. "Klaus wants to talk to you.." She explained.

Caroline took the phone nervously and held it close to her ear, greeting the caller brightly and watching as Rebekah sat back down on the tub, examining her every move. She turned her back slightly on the blonde, feeling like an ant under a microscope with Rebekah staring at her. Klaus' voice interrupted her trail of thought. "Are you feeling any better?" He asked her, though she imagined Rebekah had been asked the same question twenty seconds ago.

"I'm fine, Klaus. Once I was back in the water, I was fine again. They've blacked out the windows so I can skip around like normal." She chuckled nervously and smiled as she combed through her ends. She could vaguely feel Rebekah's stare on her back but it didn't really matter. Even though Klaus was miles away right now, she felt safe talking to him. "How are things in Chicago?" She asked.

"We arrived at Gloria's house to see it's been broken into. And Gloria is gone. We're trying to figure out where they took her." Klaus explained through the grainy background buzz of the phone line. Caroline let out a small intake of breath at this news, the kidnap of the witch who'd linked her and the vampires. "We found out through compulsion that a neighbor saw three women going into the house earlier this evening. A redhead, a little pipsqueak blonde and a Latina. The guy thinks he heard the name Scarlett thrown about ,the redhead seemed to lead the pack. You know anything about either of them?"

Caroline had gone dead still at the description of the three woman, her eyes darted to Rebekah to the mirror reflection of herself and swallowed thickly. "The blonde and Latina don't ring any bells. But the redhead…" She trailed off, gripping the sink for support and good measure. As a mermaid, she was strong but not strong enough to snap the porcelain into two like Rebekah could to the bath she was perched on, listening in on the conversation.

"What about her?" Klaus supplied helpfully, Caroline vaguely heard the zooming sound of tires in the background and assume they were on a highway. Kol could be heard nattering in the background at lack of scent and how there was next to no trial for such a mess of blood and broken potions and herbs bottles. "Caroline, there's a good possibility that these women know about the linking potion, and that could end up being very bad for you, especially since these women don't seem to be on our side. Now please tell me what you know."

Caroline looked down at her feet. "I have a half sister named Scarlett. My mom cheated on my dad before I was born, she got pregnant and gave the baby up to marry my dad. I met her when I was about six. She's extremely anti-vampire, and always got mad that our mom married a human man. Usually mermaids just get pregnant and raise their kids alone, out of pride. Goes back to the old stories and them on the rocks. She's a traditionalist basically, hates change in the regime. I haven't seen her since she took off three years ago." She explained somberly, the memories of her smiling but sad eyed redhead sister that she'd come to love so much before Scarlett had left. Rebekah's face was sad and sympathetic and she could heard the sigh Klaus made.

"There's nothing to say it's definitely her, Caroline. We'll do our best to find them and find out." He assured her. Though Klaus couldn't see it, Caroline nodded quickly to assure herself. It wasn't her sister. Her sister wouldn't want to hurt her. She wouldn't put her quest to kill vampires above her love for her sister. "You keep yourself safe, okay?" He told her.

"I always do. The sunlight thing was just a momentary lapse." She chuckled lightly to cover up her tear filled voice. Elijah knocked the door as she spoke, and Rebekah waved him in. He stepped uncomfortably into the room and Rebekah quietly filled him in on the details. His eyes went like saucers when she reached the part about Caroline's half sister being a suspect in the kidnap. "I'll see you soon, yeah?" She asked hopefully.

"Absolutely. We're going on what the neighbors told us and what trail we could pick up. Mermaids don't leave trails apparently, but there was a witche with them by the scent. We'll follow it as best we can and be home soon. Until then, you make sure you stay inside and Rebekah and Elijah will take care of the rest. Deal?" Klaus bartered over the phone. Caroline began to nod happily before realizing that she wasn't with Klaus, so gave a 'yes' as a reply. "Good. I'll see you soon." And then came the hang up tone.

Caroline sighed and pressed the end call button herself, feeling suddenly very lonely for someone who was standing in a crowded bathroom.

* * *

_One Week Later…._

_Mystic Falls _

Klaus knocked on the door to the bedroom repeatedly as the preparations continued for the gathering the family were planning for Rebekah and Kol's '18'th' birthday around the house. It was planned to be less formal than the ball they'd held weeks before, but just as stunning. Rebekah had always used the date as her birthday in the 1920's and Kol, wanting the taste of the spotlight, pitched the idea that he and Rebekah were twins in the public eye, seeing as many people had already made the assumption. "Caroline, are you nearly ready? Rebekah and Kol will be back soon. And Elijah is meeting with the Salvatores in ten minutes." Klaus called through the door, leaning against the wall. He was bored with the whole charade already.

"Come in, the door's open." Caroline called back, to which Klaus pushed the door open to her bedroom. As he did, she was wrapping a dressing gown around her body but other than that, the sides fell open to reveal a bright red lace set of underwear that made Klaus' eyes widen like pennies.

"Caroline, I asked if you were ready, and I meant for the family, not to pose for a painting in Ancient Greece." Klaus replied as he averted his eyes, to keep them away from the inches and inches of bare skin on display and kicked the door closed with his feet without thinking. Maybe he didn't want anyone to come along and see Caroline like this and make a wrong assumption. Maybe he just wanted nobody else to see Caroline like this but him. She looked at him innocently then down at her state of undress, her blonde hair falling in tresses around her shoulders. Klaus closed his eyes for a long second, trying to force the image out of his mind.

"I am ready." She insisted. Klaus cocked his eyebrows at her statement, challenging the fact that she claimed to be prepared to be seen in public. "Ready for you." She elaborated with a smirk. Klaus, for once, was dumbfounded by her addition to the statement and blinked a few times in shock. As he did that, Caroline sat slowly down on the bed, and shrugged off her satin thin dressing gown. The material pooled to a puddle at the foot of the bed and she ticked an eyebrow teasingly, smirking as she did.

"Are you drunk?" He asked curiously, stepping one step closer to the bed without telling his body to do so. Normally, he would have just pinned the blonde to the bed and ripped the remaining fabric from her flesh. That was Klaus. He liked pleasure and the feeling of giving it to a woman. He'd been around a long time, he'd learnt a few things. But he didn't do what he desired from the word 'you', he paused and furrowed his eyebrows. He sniffed the air gently, no scent of wine or any alcoholic substance radiated from Caroline, nor did any evidence of drug use. Maybe it was a mermaid thing to suddenly get horny? He thought to himself. He knew that mermaids were mysterious, but that seemed far fetched. "Are you feeling well? I know things have been a bit…odd for you since we found your sister's body.."

At the mention of her sister, Caroline's face hardened slightly but she moved to prop herself up on her hands, leaning back to give an incredible view of her cleavage. Klaus averted his eyes once more and focused on her eyes. They seemed different than the first time he'd seen them. It was true that Kol and Klaus had found the body of Caroline's half sister three days earlier, her body had been on the banks of a lake just outside of Chicago, the scent of the witch had led them straight to her. Caroline, equipped with a new sunlight ring, had been just outside of Mystic Falls having a swim in the lake. She'd arrived at the mansion to find her sister's body was in the basement. The Originals had agreed not to touch the body until Caroline decided what to do.

She'd insisted that Scarlett stay there for at least a week, it was a mermaid tradition or something. Scarlett had been a mermaid traditionalist and wouldn't have wanted to bury at sea without having one last week on land."I don't want to talk about Scarlett. I don't even want to talk." She explained, standing up and walking towards Klaus. In an attempt to remove himself from temptation, he took a step backwards for every step she took forwards until he found himself against the wall next to the fireplace, trying not stare. "We both know you're not this gentlemanly, and you can't resist me. You want this." She smiled, her eyes giggling and recovered from the hard icy quality that Scarlett had put in them.

With that, she pressed her lips against Klaus', automatically moving her tongue past his shocked still lips. Klaus didn't know whether to push her off, or to just give in but either way, she was kissing him, running her tongue along his bottom lip and teeth gently. A couple more seconds and Klaus was a goner, his lips and tongue became just as enthused and partner in the kiss as Caroline's were. He could feel her smirking against his lips and and one sharp fingertip trailing up his abs and his landing across his heart. "Atta boy." She chuckled slightly before Klaus felt her dig her nail into his flesh through his shirt.

But now that Klaus thought about it, it seemed a bit sharp and pointed to be a fingernail. Not that he could think particularly clearly with Caroline's other hand trailing her fingertips through the ends of his hair, her body pressed against his and her tongue working its magic. He moved to cup her waist and noticed something strange about the hand running itself through his hair. "Where's your ring?" He murmured against her lips. Another smirk.

"I don't need it anymore." She informed him, her voice clouded with lust and sounding very un-Caroline. The fingernail dug closer to Klaus' skin when it hit him. It wasn't her fingertip, it was a knife's point. Right against his heart. "And neither do you." She smiled, nipping at his lip.

"Nik!" Klaus didn't have time to react to her words, because Rebekah burst into the room and pulled Caroline back by the arms, nearly breaking them in the process by the looks of it. Klaus waited for the feel of strained and pressured muscles and bones to radiate through his arms, like the pain Caroline was clearly in whilst being apprehended by the Original Sister. But it never came. The knife, with a wooden blade that was unmistakably White Oak, fell to the floor with a clatter as Elijah and Kol joined the scene. "She's not Caroline, it's not her. If she was, could I do this without nearly killing all three of us?" Rebekah explained, rushed before pressing on a point in Caroline's shoulder. The girl fell slumped to the floor and Rebekah gave him a 'I told you so' look. Klaus watched as he picked up the knife, examining the blade. Definitely white oak.

"What's going on? What do you mean this isn't Caroline? How do you know the effects of the linking potion haven't just worn off?" Elijah asked his sister as she picked the body of the girl up and started towards the bathroom. The brothers followed her confused, and watched as she lay the body in bathtub and began to run the water. Kol and Klaus were chipping in with similar theories. She put one finger up for silence as the water slowly began to rise against 'Caroline's' legs and the flesh began to melt together and turn a deep crimson red.

"That enough evidence for you? Caroline's tail is bright blue. I saw it with my own two eyes and Nik did too." She explained, turning to the boys. They all exchanged looks of confusion and worry as Rebekah stopped the bath filling before Caroline was drowned in unconsciousness. "I went to go pick her up from the lake, I saw her tail out of the corner of my eye. I didn't really notice or care about the colour change till earlier this morning. When I realized that, the colour of this girl's tail matched the hair colour of the body we have in our basement. Coincidence? I think not." She explained, casting a look at the body in the tub with disregard and hatred.

"Then if that's not Caroline, who is it?" Kol asked, pointing at the girl who looked like their mermaid ally in the tub, still completely knocked out and her tail bright blood red, but the same shape as Caroline's. Now that it had been pointed out to them, the boys couldn't not notice the exact shade match between Scarlett's hair and the scales of the tail in front of them, the same exact shade. Klaus knew the shade of Caroline's tail too well, it was a shade that had been in his mind since the first time he'd seen Caroline in her true form. This woman in front of him was not it. It felt perverse and wrong, seeing her like this. The same face, hair, body, but the tail dyed a violent and loud colour.

This couldn't be his Caroline.

"I don't know, but I'll bet my yacht that the body we have in the basement isn't so much a corpse and more a cog in the plan. Klaus would probably know more about possession than I do." She added calmly. Klaus nodded firmly. He didn't really know what was going on, but he did know that someone had taken Caroline, had taken her body or her identity and used her to try and kill Klaus. She would have succeeded in piercing his heart at the very least if Rebekah hadn't come in in time, and the result could have resulted in Klaus' death or the Originals' or Caroline's, whenever she was. Caroline, the real Caroline, would have felt that blade enter her heart because of Klaus' carelessness. The thought made Klaus angry.

"Get her dry, then tie her up so her feet just touch the water." He murmured softly to Rebekah, who nodded. "Elijah, I need you to go get the Bennett witch, by any means necessary. And Kol, you're coming with me. That witch's trail in Chicago is a good place to start looking for what happened here." Klaus ordered. He gave Caroline's imposter one last look before he was out the door.


	5. Chapter 5

The trail had led here, Klaus thought to himself as Kol and him approached the lake house on the edge of Mystic Falls. They'd traveled back to Chicago and followed the trail a witch had left behind all the way back to the town they lived. Night was falling now as they forced the door open and started onto the property. It was obviously there was no current owner, seeing as they crossed the threshold perfectly fine without needing an invitation and began to search the household. Klaus looked for any signs of life or movement in the house, whilst Kol did some other rooms.

"This is not how I thought we'd be spending my 18th." Kol joked as he walked in from the living room to see Klaus staring down the stairwell that led to the basement level of the house. He looked curiously at his older brother before staring down at the stairwell himself. There was blood against the walls and dripping down the stairs, signs of a struggle. Klaus started down the stairs, stopping to examine the blood and turned to look at his brother. "The witch's blood?" Kol guessed. Klaus just nodded and began down to the basement.

Kol followed into the darker parts of the house, though it had no effect on their vision and two heartbeats became the prominent soundtrack to their search through the twisting and turning corridors of the underground levels of the house, they were close to where Damon had hidden the coffins from Klaus along with the help from the Bennett witches. The determined hybrid followed the sound of the hearts beating through the house until they came to a door, that was bolted shut and had some sort of rune or symbol on the front in black marker.

The moment Klaus touched the handle, he cried out in pain and Kol arched an eyebrow in curiosity. He did the same action himself and he too felt the burning pain in his hand. "There's something in there they don't want us to see." Klaus deducted before banging on the wood of the door, ignoring the pain it brought. The knocking echoed through the house and a couple seconds later, there was a reply in a call for help. Klaus banged the door again, trying to determine where the voice had come from and whose voice it was. "Who is it?"

"Help! We're in here!" The voice hadn't come from behind the door but from a room on the same corridor. Kol was first to the door and shoved it open, warning whoever was in there to stand back first. Klaus came to the empty doorway to see a dim, lit by candles room with no windows. The candlelight barely lit the face of the young Latina woman holding the candle and shivering. She was in a bloodied, torn outfit and her hair was a rat's nest. Kol raised an eyebrow at the girl who was pressed against the wall, obviously terrified. "Who are you?"

"Nevermind that, who are you?" Kol asked as Klaus examined the other woman on the floor. Gloria. She was bloodied, beaten to the point where one eye wouldn't open and her arm seemed broken but she was alive, unconscious. Klaus bit into his wrist and dripped it into the witch's throat, determined to save his friend's life. As he did so, he noticed her cell phone crushed in the corner and a set of witching equipment on the floor with a circle of candles. The younger witch shuddered at Kol's question and the candle trembled in her hand.

"I'm Seraphina." She explained as Gloria's body began to heal and Klaus offered his wrist to the beaten young girl. Seraphina declined profusely and Kol rolled his eyes at her stubbornness. Klaus didn't react to her refusal, but asked her what had happened. "I don't remember. I was with Scarlett and Elle in the motel room with Gloria when suddenly everything went black. I think we were ambushed. Next thing I remember, we were in Chicago then I blacked out again. Then we were here and they were making us read from some strange grimoire I've never seen before in my life, a language I've never seen. It was exhausting. Black magic." She told them.

Klaus and Kol drank her story in, as Gloria started to come around, groaning like she was hungover and muttering wordlessly in pain. Seraphina stopped speaking and went to kneel next to Gloria, muttering a few words in Latin. The older witch seemed to relax the more the Latina spoke and soon she was almost smiling. Klaus and Kol looked at each other at Seraphina's show of great witching talent in not showing any exhaustion from the healing spell to pacify Gloria's pain. Satisfied that her fellow prisoner was okay, the younger witch continued with her story. "Gloria fainted afterwards and they left us here. They kept us in the dark so that we didn't see their faces. She kept floating in and out of consciousness. We tried to get out but the symbols on the door means we can't touch it without pain and the room is barricaded from sending out messages. They didn't want us to get out for some reason." She explained.

"I'll bet these people are the same people who kidnapped Caroline." Kol muttered darkly, now sitting on a crate in the corner of the room. Klaus was leaning against the wall, deep in thought. What spell would need two witches? Big spells needed that kind of power, things like transformation and permanent incantations. Had these witches unwillingly transformed someone into the imposter they'd seen? Who even were their captors? If it wasn't Scarlett, did that mean the girl was actually dead and not a part of the scheme? Where was Caroline? Klaus sighed at the thought that he still had no idea where Caroline was.

"They wanted..a…scale…" Gloria murmured from her place on the floor, all three of them popped their heads to listen to her. She was breathing heavily and one hand was against her chest to steady herself but the pain didn't seem evident due to Seraphina's spell. Klaus furrowed his brow. "That redhead…she…gave them a scale…from…her tail." She wheezed. The two brothers looked at each other once before helping one of the witches out of the room and back up out of the house.

* * *

Rebekah sat on the floor of the bathroom, leaning against the wall as she waited for her victim to wake up. She'd done well finding some chains in the garage to hang the girl from the pipes so her feet were brushing the surface of the cool water she'd filled the bath with. The imposter had been unconscious for two hours now, obviously not having taken to pressure points well. Her head hung down on her chest, her still wet blonde hair hanging dead around her face. She walked the girl strung up like a marionette and pondered what reason they could have to take Caroline's place.

Elijah had already checked the girl downstairs, Caroline's sister. And she was dead, completely. Her neck was shattered and had been snapped like a twig. There was no way she was still alive after a week like that. No magic could do that. Rebekah felt sorry for the girl in a way, knowing she was probably used in a way before they murdered her and Caroline had now lost a sister. She knew what losing a sibling felt like, Finn's death had only been a couple of weeks ago and it still hurt to think about even now. The blonde pushed herself up and filled a beaker with cold water from the sink, throwing it in the face of the Pseudo-Caroline.

"Hey, wakey wakey. Nap time is over. Time to tell us who you are." Rebekah told her firmly as the girl groaned and looked around, still dazed and confused. The fake Caroline noticed her feet and scrambled, swinging her legs to touch the water before glaring at Rebekah. "Only your toes in the water. Heard that's pretty lethal for creatures who need water." The Original Sister smirked. With that, she picked up the sparring knife she'd got from the kitchen. "Now, who are you?"

Before she could get an answer, Rebekah felt a intense pain in her back, like she was being stabbed. She screamed and staggered against the nearest wall, dropping the knife. The captive imposter chuckled at the girl's state and Rebekah could hear similar cries of pain from Elijah downstairs. Wherever Caroline was, Rebekah thought, she was in immense pain right now.

* * *

Klaus and Kol felt the blow at the same moment as their siblings, Kol had almost dropped Seraphina as he carried her out to the car they'd parked outside the lakehouse. Her legs are cut up and weak so the stairs were too much. Klaus had already helped Gloria and fell to his knees. It wasn't so much the pain, it was the thought of Caroline in pain that made him want to yell. He could almost see her in his mind being stabbed in the back, right next to the spine. The blade could touch the spinal cord and twisted slowly in her flesh. She wouldn't be brave, she'd cry and scream and beg. A compassionate person like Caroline, so full of innocence would believe that they would have mercy on her.

Once the pain had subsided enough for Klaus to stand up and Kol had carried the young witch to the car and agreed they needed to get home quickly, Klaus suddenly found himself very angry. How dare anyone touch Caroline like that? Especially if it was to get to him or his siblings. Why put her through the pain? She was innocent. She just wanted to be kept safe. Once again, Klaus had lied to her about that. He'd failed her, he thought as he slammed the car door shut and began back to the mansion.

* * *

Caroline screamed, properly screamed, when the knife pierced her back. Fat tears rolled down her cheeks at the agony, and she could feel the blade against her spine. Her torturer twisted it slightly to caress the knife against the bone and Caroline struggled in her bonds, sobbing at the pain. The woman behind her chuckled and another held her against the chair she was chained into; Caroline was blindfolded but could sense they were both women. The knife slid from her back, leaving the skin exposed to the air and a sting to pulse around the flesh as blood trickled from the wound. The blood trickled down her back and soaked her dress.

Suddenly Caroline's head was being pulled back by her hair and a liquid dripped into her open mouth. Her jaw was then forced shut so she couldn't spit it out, holding her nose so she had to swallow in order to breathe. Her back began to lull in pain and there was a warm sensation over where the skin had been broken by the knife. Vampire blood. They were torturing her and feeding her vampire blood to heal her. "No..." Caroline protested in a weak voice once they released her jaw so she could talk again. "Why are you doing this?"

"'Why are you doing this?' she says." The one behind her imitated her tone, jesting with her friend as Caroline felt the tip of the knife graze up her arms. At points, she stuck the edge in and Caroline hissed at the injection. "We're doing this because you're filthy vermin and so are vampires. Kill you, we kill every vampire ever. Which would take a load of our minds." came the explanation.

"Then just do it…" Caroline breathed, begging for death. "Siren." She added in disgust.

"Ding! Ding! Ding! I think she's got it, Elle!" The second girl announced in faux joy, sarcasm in every word she spoke. Caroline cried out in pain when the knife made an X mark on her forearm, blood running down her arm and pooling at the crook in her elbow. A couple seconds later, a tongue brushed her inner arm and licked up the blood like ice cream on a hot day. Her face contorted in disgust and she squirmed away. "Cute, a girl who doesn't like blood play, helping vampires and falling helplessly in love with one of them. We've been watching. That's why we had to mess with that Klaus first, sent off an imposter to seduce him as you. Make them think that your big sister, the prime suspect did it and throw them off our trail." The girl taunted her.

"What did you do to her? Where's my sister?"

There was a moment of silence, a couple mutters and a noise of agreement before the blindfold was yanked from Caroline's eyes. She blinked at the light hanging over them and looked around. It was an empty room, with a bare light bulb above them. The two women were standing over them. One was a tall, twenty something brunette; the other was a teenaged blonde who spoke next as the other played cat and mouse with Caroline's skin and knife, playing with the helpless creature before killing it. "I killed her. I infiltrated her little group, pretended to be one of you sickening mermaids, and made her believe that she was in control." The blonde hissed hatefully.

The brunette took over, the knife pressed into Caroline's collarbone for a few seconds, slicing a long, shallow gash in her skin. "Then once she had two witches and was in mermaid form, we pounced. Dragged her to Chicago by her hair and forced her to give up a scale, your family are good at giving them up, you see. Then we snapped her neck and left her there for you to find." She explained as tears began to roll down her cheeks. Her sister was dead. "Then we forced the two witches to take your potion and her scale and create a mirage potion, whoever drank it took on your form and her tail. Then she went and screwed your little boyfriend." That was a deliberate taunt. Caroline didn't react to any of the words spoken, still mourning her big sister.

"What are you waiting for then? Kill me!" Caroline was begging again, she didn't want another second of this waiting, of this pain. Instead the brunette stabbed the knife into her shoulder and twisted the blade around. Caroline screamed and struggled, trying to get her body away from the blade and get some relief, but instead served to make it hurt more. The two women chuckled, and smirked at each other, like Caroline was a stupid little child who didn't understand the joke. The knife was pulled from her skin and the vampire blood was administered again. This time, Caroline spat it out at the women and Elle shrieked, punching the girl in the nose. A clean break. "Just kill me!" She insisted once more, hoping Klaus would forgive her.

* * *

Rebekah shuddered at the second stab and cried out, the fake Caroline still chuckling at the girl's agony and pain. The blonde checked to see that she was bleeding from her shoulder, followed seconds later by a blow to her nose. Her phone sat on the edge of the sink and she had to reach over and get it, pressing it to her ear. "What?!" She screamed down the line as Elijah staggered in. He was obviously annoyed by the imposter's chuckles, because his hand clasped around the throat of the girl and began to choke her.

"Rebekah!" Kol gasped down the line. "We have the witches, and some idea of what happened. They used a black magic grimoire with a mirage potion, or that's what Gloria told us from context. You need to find out where they're keeping Caroline from the imposter, like now, so we can undo the spell and get her back." The little brother shouted down, hissing in pain every now and again. Rebekah nodded even though he couldn't see it.

"A black magic grimoire? They're not easily found." Elijah asked curiously, his hand still tightening around the imposter. "Where did you get the grimoire? You can tell us now, or later when I've broken every bone in your body, healed you up then done it again." He asked calmly. The imposter choked and gasped for air, her feet scrambling to touch the water as Kol remained on the line. There was another stab sensation to the leg and Rebekah clutched at the bloodied area, hearing her three brothers react the same. 'Caroline' chuckled at their pain but it was cut off by Elijah's fingers around her neck, she gasped instead. Elijah tilted his head.

"Some witch, blonde hair, tight lipped. She told us to do it okay?!" The girl gasped out in a tight voice, barely able to speak with the vampire strangling her. "She told us sirens to kidnap the mermaid and hold her there so she could kill her and you vampire will all go down, gave us the magic book and everything. I'm just a distraction to throw you off! Please don't kill me!" She begged, Rebekah straightened up, wondering whether Caroline had begged like that. Elijah pondered the request for a few seconds before the girl's body went limp. Her heart still beat though; Elijah had made her pass out from the lack of air.

"Are you okay?" He asked, walking over to his sister and helping her up. "I suppose you've inferred who the witch is." Elijah told her.

"Mother. It would explain all the powerful magic and the want for wanting us dead. Sirens have never troubled us before, not in a thousand years. They just want to kill Caroline because she's a mermaid, you couldn't find another assassin with more passion for their target." Rebekah replied sadly, she heard Kol sigh at their mother's new attempt to kill them on the other line before lifting the device to her ear and pinching the bridge of her nose. Elijah looked down at the floor sadly for a few seconds before looking back up at his sister as she tried to figure out what to say. "We need to find Caroline, now. Any idea where she might be?"

"Hang on, I might." Kol announced, an admittance nobody was expected. Before he could speak, Rebekah doubled over in pain, a stab wound straight to the stomach. "Maybe we should leave you and the imposter there to get more information and Nik and I will get going to this location, you seem very connected to Caroline, Bekah. Good luck to all." He replied before hanging up. Rebekah threw the phone into the corner, in too much pain to care. The world was spinning and everything seemed too bright, it hurt her head.

She collapsed.

Elijah caught the blonde before she could hit the floor and moved his sister to the chair in the corner, her body falling slack over the furniture. He watched and waited for her to come around, the pain had been intense for him but Rebekah seemed most affected by whatever was happening to Caroline. He hadn't even felt the last stab that had knocked his sister out. He considered calling Kol again, but realized that there was nothing to be done with them here, him and Nik had a better chance going and getting Caroline. Ten minutes passed and Rebekah remained unconscious. Elijah knew subconsciously what this meant. Caroline was near death.


	6. Chapter 6

_Caroline gasped awake._

Rebekah gasped awake.

_The mermaid looked around that she was still chained to the chair._

The vampire glanced around to see that she was lying on her bed in the manor.

_"Caroline?!"_

"..Rebekah?"

_"Klaus? Kol? I'm in here! Get me out!"_

"Elijah..? What happened?"

_"..We can't, love. The door is coated in vervain and protected by magic, we can't enter. But we're coming for you, Caroline." Klaus shouted back as his voice travelled through the building. Caroline began to panic as the buzzing of the light bulb became louder and louder, forcing her wrists against the containers to try and escape her bonds._

_Tears slipped from her eyes. And she heard a stirring in the corner._

"..I don't know, Rebekah. I can't reach Niklaus or Kol to see how their retrieving Caroline is going, their cell phones must be out of range." Elijah admitted slowly, standing over his sister at her bedside and handing Rebekah a glassful of blood to help her revive her tired self. The blonde reached for it and gulped it down.

Then promptly spat it out, her body rejecting the substance. "What's going on?" Rebekah asked frantically as Elijah eyed the red stain of blood on his sister's sheets where she'd choked the blood up from between her lips. His eyes became worried and shocked by her reaction, blood still around her mouth as she began to weep. If she couldn't feed, she would decay. "What happened to me? I can't-" She didn't finish because the skin of her arm began to hiss and burn, causing incredible pain for the blonde, who cried out. Elijah watched on, worried for his baby sister. The sensation spread across her skin like wildfire and Rebekah fell back, like she was being doused in vervain.

-X-

Caroline screamed in reaction to the vervain being poured over her, Klaus shouting for her in response to her cries. The brunette siren was tipping the water over her bare arms and watching it hiss and cut away at her wounds that hadn't been healed with vampire blood. "Just checking something, sweetheart. Then you can be on your way. I'll hand you over to those vampires, myself." She promised with gritted teeth as she massaged the liquidized herbs into Caroline's flesh. Caroline screamed more and she could hear Klaus' anger rising in his voice as he barked threats at the siren. "You're good to go." She announced a second later, tossing the empty cup aside and undoing the restraints.

"What happened to me? Mermaids aren't affected by vervain." Caroline murmured as she was yanked to her feet. There was a stirring in the corner again, and she turned to see another brunette, a human unconscious in the corner. It was the Elena girl she'd met a while back. Caroline could hear the girl's quickening heartbeat in her ears, and paused for a second.

"No, but vampires are."

The penny dropped. Caroline's fear piqued. "Did you turn me into a vampire?!" She asked hurriedly, determined to get the truth as she rushed over to the brunette and saw she had a gaping wound in her arm. Caroline could smell the blood slowly rushing from the gash. "What good would that do? Why turn me?! How did you do it? Mermaids can't be turned!" Caroline insisted.

"Peace, Caroline," came a voice from a chair in the corner, Caroline turned from Elena to see a middle aged blonde woman sitting and watching the scene unfold. The witch stood up and lit some sage, swaying it slightly so that a thin mist surrounded her. Caroline choked on the scent and Elena did the same in her near-slumber. From just those words and that action, Caroline swallowed thickly and knew this was Klaus' mother, the one trying to kill his family. Caroline made a wild gesture of the arms at the woman's request for peace, what could she possibly have to be peaceful about right now? She had been tortured and turned for peace?

"I have merged the protection spell to focus on just my daughter in its physical effects, bound your mermaid abilities to keep them safe from the hands of my children and put you in a state of transition to become a vampire. You must simply not feed on blood in the next twenty four hours and my children will die peacefully as they would have had they not fed a thousand years ago. It would be the most peaceful death I could give my children. Afterwards I will resurrect you with the blood of the doppelganger and return you your mermaid powers. You can live forever without fear of vampires again." She explained, looking the mermaid in the eyes.

A couple seconds went by and she spoke again, gently but sternly. "However, if you do feed, you will become a vampire and these lovely ladies will kill you anyway. They extracted one of your scales whilst you were unconscious and I have created a potion that will make it impossible for you to evade them and sirens are very patient." Esther explained, gesturing to Elle and the brunette siren. They smirked as if they would prefer Caroline make a game of it for them. Caroline gave them a look and turned back to Esther.

"Why would I do either of those things?" She interjected.

"Because you have no choice. You can choose between a painful death for all of you or one of no pain and peace. It is your choice, but choose wisely. Now, return to my sons and enjoy your final days." Esther explained, waving her hand. The door opened by itself and there stood Klaus and Kol, along with two other men, clearly vampires. They were standing a few yards from the doorway and trying to force themselves through an invisible barrier that prevented them from entering. Caroline didn't think then, she gave a hateful look to the witch before pushing herself to her feet and running into Klaus' waiting arms. He sighed heavily and wrapped his arms around her torso, kissing her temple. "Good evening, Niklaus, Kol." Esther greeted the two Originals as Elena came around.

"Stefan? Damon? What happened?" Elena asked in a murmur, one of the sirens helped her to her feet and over the boundary in the darker haired vampire's arm. He bit into his wrist and offered it to the girl, who declined. Caroline breathed in the coppery smell of her blood and hid her face into Klaus' chest calmly, trying to push past the burning desire for blood.

"What's wrong, mother?Too afraid to step outside your little cave and join us? Hiding behind sirens now are we?" Kol asked. Esther didn't react as Klaus scooped Caroline up before she could protest. Elena was doing her best to walk and stumbled slightly, but rejected either of the brothers' help. The younger Mikealson rolled his eyes and began out the building, all of them thinking they had the last laugh on the witch. Caroline kept her head on Klaus' shoulder as tears began to spill from her eyes. She didn't know what to do. Caroline was at a loss. Did she let them all die peacefully like Esther promised and return to her life before this all happened or did she selfishly feed and make it painful for them all.

They began out the lake house, where Esther had been hiding Caroline for the past day, and towards their cars. Gloria and Seraphina were in the back of Kol's car and waved slowly to the returning six people. Klaus set Caroline down and cupped her jaw. "Why are you crying? What did they do?" He asked her curiously, his fury tense behind his affection. Caroline sobbed and put her hand over his on her face, shaking her head. "Caroline." He demanded of her.

Before he could ask more of her, she did what she'd wanted to do for hours now. For all the time she'd been locked away, Caroline had thought about the first thing she would do once she was free and pressed her lips against his. Klaus responded eagerly and kissed her back sweetly, even though she kept on crying silently as they embraced. Caroline pulled away and let out a little whimper, even more torn about what to do now. How could she have let herself hold these precious souls in her hands when she couldn't make a decision like this one? She knew she couldn't do it alone, or dally with time. It was not her friend now.

"Your mother turned me into a vampire." She whispered and his eyes went wide, Kol looked up from his conversation with the Salvatores in shock. The Originals looked at each other and Kol nodded back to the house. They were both ready to burn the place to the ground for what they had done to the blonde. Caroline shook her head though; knowing Esther would be long gone before they could catch the place alit. "She told me that I have to reject the transition and allow you all to die peacefully then get my mermaid powers back, or she would have the sirens kill me brutally to make it painful for you." Caroline breathed through her tears. Klaus sighed heavily and shushed her, putting one hand on the back of her head and holding her close.

"What do you want?" He asked.

"I don't want to lose you." She cried, becoming a total wreck now her emotions were through the roof. Elena looked sympathetic and gazed down at the gash on her arm that was still oozing blood, slowly stilling. Klaus noticed the laceration and looked back at Caroline. "Sacrificing all the vampire race for my powers isn't worth it." Caroline added.

"Then feed." He said simply. "And I'll protect you. I promise. I know I've broken every promise thus far, but this one I will keep. I swear on my life, literally." Caroline giggled through her sobs and he smirked to see her smile again. Elena knew what to do and stepped forward, offering her arm to Caroline who inhaled the scent of blood and pursed her lips. Klaus moved to take her hand and squeezed it gently. "I'm right here." He added, tucking some of her hair behind her ear.

It was then that Caroline lowered her mouth to Elena's wound and began to feed.

* * *

A month later…

"We've been waiting a month for those sirens to turn up for Caroline, and nothing!" Rebekah started as the Originals sat around their parlour. The blonde Original was pacing and Caroline was tucked under Klaus' arm, watching her walk back and forth across the wooden flooring. The click of her heels against the oak set a consistency in the movement. "I just want them to turn up so I can tear them to shreds myself for all the pain they've caused us, those vile creatures." Rebekah spat. Kol inclined his head, enjoying the visual that put in his head of killing the sirens. It was true that it had been a month since Caroline had completed the transition.

"Perhaps, they were bluffing to scare Caroline." Elijah countered. "Caroline is a very compassionate person, she would choose the less painful option." Caroline smiled at the compliment.

"That's a lovely theory. Now back to the real world where threats are real." came an interruption from behind them. The Originals all turned to see Damon and Stefan Salvatore standing in the doorway, along with Bonnie Bennett and Elena Gilbert. Caroline averted her eyes when she saw the doppelganger, too ashamed to meet her gaze. She'd nearly killed the girl when she fed that night, and they hadn't seen each other since. Klaus rolled his eyes at the intrusion and looked down at Caroline. "The Sirens were spotted by Katherine just outside Mystic Falls. Yesterday. They're not gone, and they're most definitely watching." He explained, going to pour himself a drink.

"When did Katherine become a reliable source of information?" Rebekah quipped.

"When the fate of the entire vampire race rests on one girl, whose safety is now the most important thing in the world for us." Damon replied with a growl. The blonde huffed and put her hands on her hips. "Whatever potion they've got on her, its powerful stuff and how do we know that they can't kill her from a distance with magic? They've got the Original witch on side. And you can't break the protection spell because Mommy Dearest has strengthened it and the three witches we have couldn't even make a dent together." He insisted cockily, sipping his drink and listing every possible way Esther had screwed them over. Stefan leaned against the doorway and crossed his arms.

"What's your plan, Klaus?" He asked with a hint of condescension.

"I am here, you know. Don't speak about me like I'm not here, Damon." Caroline grumbled, her head still relaxed against Klaus' chest. Damon looked at her as if it was the first time he'd noticed her all evening despite the fact the conversation revolved completely around her. His attitude and mood had combined together to make him daring because his response was 'or what?' which caused Caroline to glare and show him. In the next second, she'd flashed over and twisted his arm behind his back, Rebekah chuckled in delight of the month old vampire taking on the eldest Salvatore and winning. "Or, I'll offer you up as an appetizer to the sirens." She murmured darkly before letting go of him. Damon straightened up, the pain in his arm evident.

"You heard the lady, Damon, move into the twenty first century and go with the feminism." Klaus announced, standing up to join Caroline. "And as it so happens, Stefan, Caroline and I have found another option to sort the siren problem out so we can focus on getting rid of the Original witch. And although, I hate it with all my heart, she is determined to at least run it by you." He told those present. Caroline rolled her eyes at Klaus' protectiveness and determination to fulfil his promise to keep her safe, but smiled a second later because it flattered her.

"What makes you think it will work?" Damon asked, still recovering from the arm.

"My parents are dead. The sirens killed her a week ago. I've lost my sister, my mother and my father all in a month because of these sirens." Caroline replied harshly, making no move to attack Damon physically again. Klaus put one hand on her upper arm just in case she did try and kick his ass once more to teach him a lesson; there was only so much a baby vampire could do over a vampire that was over a hundred years old. "This plan will work, but we'll need Bonnie, Katherine and Elena's help. Oh, and I don't like this part, but Damon's too." She murmured, and then she began to lay out the plan that would solve their problems.

* * *

"Hello?" Damon called into the woods the next evening. "Vampire calling sirens, come out, come out. We got your message. We have the mermaid, all gift-wrapped and ready to go." He sang, looking around for any signs of movement. He'd been waiting for nearly an hour now for the sirens to show themselves, as had been arranged earlier that evening when they'd received a message via compelled woman who promptly jumped off a bridge. And the blonde siren emerged from the trees. "Aw, nice of you to finally arrive. Now hand Elena over, like we agreed." He murmured, as the second one emerged, tugging Elena into the clearing.

"With the lack of safety measures around the doppelganger, it's a wonder she's not dead yet. Klaus cannot be happy that the doppelganger is in our hands so he doesn't have his blood supply." The brunette spat disdainfully, circling the woman in question like a meal. Elena shuddered and smiled nervously when she set her eyes on Damon.

"We have an arrangement, Farah, remember? I think he'll be more pissed off when I turn over Caroline, but hey, he'll be dead and it won't matter." Damon shrugged it off. The blonde siren was leaning against a tree and watching the vampire curiously as the negotiations continued. Farah, the brunette siren, shrugged and tightened her grip around Elena's upper arm. The girl winced at the pain that siren inflicted on her. "Caroline's trapped in the tomb about five minutes south of here, vampires can't get out but you guys can and you can play with her all you'd like. She's drugged up on vervain and all." Damon explained, before the siren relinquished control of the girl and Elena rushed into Damon's arms. He slowly wrapped his arms her with hesitance.

Then Farah began to cackle. "Don't recognise Katherine do you?" Damon tried to keep a poker face and gave the brunette a look of exasperation. Katherine inclined her head slightly and shrugged, knowing not to speak or her lip might provoke them further.

"Either way, two vampires versus two sirens; we kept our side of the bargain." Damon promised.

"Oh, we know you did." Elle announced with a smirk. Katherine let out a choked sob as a vervain dart hit her neck and Damon followed a couple seconds later. They both fell to the ground, knocked out and the two sirens stepped over them, beginning south.

* * *

When they arrived at the tomb minutes later, stepping down into it, Caroline was lying a little way in the tomb. Only her lower half was showing as she peeked out from the main room. She was groaning wordlessly in pain and beginning to come around. Elle smirked and nodded to Farah, before she stepped into the threshold of the tomb. Pulling out a stake and stepping towards the blonde, her still beating heart began to throb at the prospective of being so close to destroying the vampire race. One plunge of the stake into the girl's heart and it would all be over. "Wait." Farah's voice interrupted her bravado and the petite blonde turned to the entrance. "Hello, Klaus." The elder of the two spoke into the air.

"Evening." The hybrid's voice rang through the air as he stepped into the tomb, his smirk strong and confident. Farah rolled her eyes and motioned for Elle to emerge from the tomb. The blonde looked to Caroline's passive body once more then turned, walking to stand by Farah.

"So, would you like me to give you a couple minutes to destroy Damon for leading us to Caroline or would you like us to get this over with?" Farah quipped.

Klaus chuckled and spared a sad look to the knocked out blonde, his lips turning downwards for a few seconds and his eyes turning to the ground. "Actually, for his standards, I think Damon did a stand up job. He got you here, lulled you into a false sense of security and now you're trapped and helpless." He explained. Elle furrowed her brow and wielded the stake in her hands.

"Big words seeing as we're the ones with the stake."

"But we're the ones with the element of surprise." He replied before motioning to someone. In the next second, both of the sirens were caught around the neck by Rebekah or Kol. Elle dropped the stake in fear and surprise, Rebekah her captor. The Original hissed and tightened her grip so the girl choked, though she could breathe fine underwater. Klaus gestured and the vampires threw the sirens into the tomb, they fell in a pile near Caroline as the hybrid walked in to collect the blonde in his arms and kiss her forehead, mutter something and begin out.

"Ha! Now you're both trapped!" Elle taunted. It was then that the Latin chants invaded the air and Bonnie emerged from the shadows with Elena at her side, with a bleeding hand. Klaus passed over the barrier with Caroline in tow before setting her on her feet, though they were both vampires and Elena pressed her bloodied hand into the wall of the tomb. Bonnie's nose had begun to bleed profusely and the sirens knew what had happened. Kol smirked when the girls screamed and tried to follow the hybrid and the ex-mermaid but were blocked by an invisible force. Caroline smirked, fully recovered from her acting spell.

"Really? Because it looks a lot like you are." Kol commented. "And without a drop of water."

The sirens exchanged a look. "Why don't you just kill us?" Farah challenged.

"Because I know that you've linked yourselves to me with my scale like I did with the Originals. If you die naturally as a siren would so far from water, I'll be fine but had Rebekah ripped your heart out, I would be a goner too." Caroline explained. "Enjoy the next…how long is it for sirens? Four weeks is the record, I hear? Have fun." She cocked her head and smirked before taking Klaus' hand and beginning out of the tomb and towards the forest. Elle slammed her hand against the barrier once more as the remainder of the crowd began out.

* * *

Instead of joining the Mikealsons back at the manor to celebrate, Caroline made her way to the lake and dipped her toes in the water as she sat on the pier. When they didn't instantly melt into scale at the water's caress, her heart sank a little. She let her legs submerge up to mid calves and leaned back to feel the moon on her skin. Now the sirens were trapped and would be dead in weeks that left them time to find Esther and get rid of her. That was Klaus' plan, she would just watch on and help. Her plan worked this time, but she wouldn't let herself get cocky. The hybrid had been at this for a thousand years now.

"Not in the mood for celebrating?" Klaus sat down beside her but didn't dip his feet in. Caroline opened her eyes and smiled. Speak of the devil, she thought to herself as she leaned on him, his arm wrapping around her. "Your plan worked then. Well done, love." He chuckled in her ear before kissing her temple.

"It was a hollow victory." She commented.

"Because you're no longer a mermaid?" He asked her curiously. A couple seconds later, she nodded sadly and flicked some water across the lake with her toes. "I'm sorry my mother took your powers away from you, Caroline, and I'll get them back for you if you really want them." He promised gently, his lips against her hair.

"No…they wouldn't take me back now, my body would just reject them, probably cause a lot of pain in the process. I'm a vampire, and I'll live with that. It's just as well that I'll have good company during forever after my species switch." She smiled sweetly, looking up at Klaus and pressing her lips against his gently. He smiled onto her lips and cupped her jaw. "That is, if you still want me around. I bet once you've got rid of your mother the spell will be broken." Caroline commented, her nervous paranoid side showing for a few seconds. The hybrid just chuckled and kissed her once more.

"Sweetheart, you'll never be rid of me. Promise is a promise."

* * *

**And there you have it! Thank you for reading! Please leave a review and don't forget to check out my other stories! *blows kisses***


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